


Bedtime Stories

by chosuiri



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Just a Professor bonding with his student :pensive:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 10:23:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21073346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chosuiri/pseuds/chosuiri
Summary: Curious about the diary Tressa has been scribbling in, Cyrus one day asks to see it.Of course, he's a professor, so obviously he's going to annotate it.





	Bedtime Stories

**Author's Note:**

> hey there guys! here's an older piece i wrote earlier in the year for the octopath zine called tressa's travel diary! you should check it out (i heard there's still some physical copies left!) [here](https://twitter.com/OT_zine)!
> 
> i love cyrus. i love 8path. would like to finish the game some time, if only school wasn't so busy... either way, please enjoy!

“What’s this?” The professor asks as he comes up to Tressa, who is furiously scribbling in her diary. “Why, Tressa, how vigilant of you to record our travels for us. These will surely prove to be useful in the future. How thorough are you with it?”

Tressa grins, proudly flashing her handiwork at the elder man, “Well, y’know how I got this from Captain Leon, right? Professor Albright, you gotta read from the beginning, the previous owner’s adventures are awesome!”

“If you don’t mind. Then, I’ll take a look at it when you’re finished with today’s entry.” Cyrus nods as he strokes his chin thoughtfully at the younger girl’s enthusiasm in her work. It’s very reminiscent of what passionate students he had in the past-- it’s a pleasure to see that his fellow travelers were eager to become students of his as well.

He smiles, thinking to leave Tressa to her own devices, but that plan quickly falls through as Tressa springs up from her seat and offers the closer diary to him. “I’m done, Professor! Take all the time you need with it!”

“Very well, I’ll be sure to return it as soon as I can.” He gladly accepts the book from her, tucking it under his arm snugly.

* * *

Cyrus proudly presents the diary back to the merchant with a smile, “true to your word, I found the previous owner’s adventures quite delightful. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve taken the opportunity to write some of my own thoughts inside.”

“I guess that’s fine,” Tressa blinks, taking the book from the scholar and nodding to herself as she quickly flips through the pages. As to what Cyrus mentioned, he actually went through with his own writing utensil and annotated the text he was reading as if it was any other tome he happened upon. He definitely gleaned lots of interesting information from it, and he hopes that they may be able to apply it to their travels as they continue on.

After all, it’s only the beginning of their journey.

“You say interesting stuff here, Professor!” Tressa gasps as she reads through his notes, “I always wondered what that meant!” She points to a specific part where Cyrus wrote a quick explanation of the phenomena the previous traveler observed. She then continues to flip through the pages, scanning over his quick annotations and eventually reaching the end of the old owner’s writings and then onto hers… which were left unmarked. “Oh, mine are…”

Cyrus perks up, “oh, would you like for me to annotate yours as well? I wasn’t quite sure if you wanted it to be private. I will gladly look over it if I am allowed.”

Tressa grins, “sounds fun to me! Adventures are meant to be shared!”

Cyrus nods in agreement, “indeed. That’s the beauty of it. Very well, I’ll grade your entries as well.”

She then hands back her diary to him, watching him as he takes it and beams again, “don’t be too tough on grading, Professor!”

He chuckles, “I’ll correct only if I see something wrong grammar-wise. Otherwise, I’m only there to offer some more commentary.”

She nudges him playfully, “I know~ thanks a bunch!”

“Of course. I’m glad that you decided to keep track of our adventures in the first place. I’m sure they will be a pleasure to read about, Tressa.”

Tressa nods triumphantly, “of course! You won’t want to stop reading! But make sure you get enough sleep!”

Cyrus laughs, patting the younger girl on the head affectionately, “I will make sure to do that. But I can’t promise you that if your writing is so interesting.”

“Professor!”

* * *

“Professor-- whoa, what happened?” Tressa yelps as Cyrus wearily drops her travel diary right into her hands. Dark circles underlined the professor’s eyes and he was slightly hunched over as if his back was about to give out.

He clears his throat, straightening his back as he shakes his head, “Nothing to worry about. You really had some insightful content in there, Tressa. I wrote a lot of information to explain some of the things you asked about in there.”

She flips through the journal, making a mental reminder to take the time to read up on his annotations later. Humming to herself as she closes the book, Tressa flashes a smile at the scholar. “Thanks, Professor! But you need to get a proper night’s sleep, y’know? It’s like you didn’t listen to me at all!” She pouts, crossing her arms with her diary in tow.

Cyrus chuckles, “I tried, but I just couldn’t stop reading.”

“I get that feeling, totally!” She agrees, but furrows her eyebrows as she tries to playfully scold him again. “Well, but you gotta get good rest so we can have more fun adventures together, Professor! We can’t explore and see more of what the world has to offer if you’re tired!”

“Well said, Tressa.” He relents with another laugh. “I suppose I’ll get some rest now, and I’ll read what happens today from here later.” He says as he gestures to the journal.

Tressa beams, “You got it, Professor! I’ll make sure to get even more detailed! It’ll be just like you were there!”

“I look forward to it,” Cyrus smiles as he pats Tressa on the head, yawning as he decides to heed Tressa’s advice and get some sleep into his schedule.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! perhaps i'll write more octopath fic in the future if i ever get back around to finishing it, but it was a pleasure to be part of the octopath zine! again, please check it out [here](https://twitter.com/OT_zine)!
> 
> EDIT: [accompanying art](https://gantai-kun.tumblr.com/post/188425178590/my-piece-for-tressas-travel-diary-fanzine-it-was) for your viewing pleasure!
> 
> thank you all again, and find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/SAVlORKING)!


End file.
